First All-Star Voting Returns Unkind To Jazz Players
Feb 4, 2021, 11:54 AM | Updated: 11:55 am
Rudy Gobert at NBA All-Star Practice (Ben Anderson, KSL Sports)
(Ben Anderson, KSL Sports)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The first round of voting for the NBA All-Star game has returned, and the results aren’t kind to the Utah Jazz.
Despite owning the best record in the NBA, only one Jazz player found his name among the top 10 in either the frontcourt or the backcourt.
Donovan Mitchell was the lone Jazzman to see his name listed, receiving the fifth-most votes of any Western Conference guard with 236,850, but trailing Golden State Warriors guard Steph Curry, Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic, Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard, and second-year Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant.
Mitchell is averaging 23.3 points, 4.6 assists, and 4.3 rebounds while shooting 40 percent from the three-point line on 8.5 attempts per game.
#NBAAllStar voting first returns are out. Donovan 5th in West backcourt. No Rudy or Conley.#TakeNote l @kslsports pic.twitter.com/S1hVmBAs1m
— Sam Farnsworth (@Samsworth_KSL) February 4, 2021
Meanwhile, Rudy Gobert didn’t rank among the top 10 vote-getters in the Western Conference frontcourt despite the Jazz 16-5 record, and the team’s fouth-best defensive rating in the NBA.
Gobert is averaging 13.3 points, 13.4 rebounds, and a career-high 2.7 blocks as the anchor for the Jazz defense.
Both Gobert and Mitchell both made their All-Star debut representing the Jazz last season in Chicago.
Veteran guard Mike Conley also came up short of making the West’s top 10 guards receiving votes. Conley is in the midst of his best season in the NBA averaging 16.8 points, 6.1 assists, and a career-high 3.8 rebounds per game.
The #NBAAllStar case for @UtahJazz guard #MikeConley.
(By the way, if you retweet this, it counts as an All-Star vote for Mike!)#TakeNote https://t.co/nVuknqCbZ8
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) February 3, 2021
Conley leads the NBA in total plus-minus as the Jazz have outscored opponents by 232 points when the guard has been on the floor this season. He also leads all NBA starters in Net Rating (16.5) which measures the difference between a player’s offensive and defensive rating.
Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant leads all NBA players in total votes with 2,302,705. Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James leads all Western Conference players with 2,288,676 votes. Curry received 2,113,178 to come in third place, while Milwaukee Bucks big man Giannis Antetokounmpo ranks fourth with 1,752,185 total votes.
